Automatic feeding apparatus.



J. E. HENES. AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3. 1913.

, Patented Sept. '26, 1916.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET {raven/tori 5? J. E. HENES.

AUTOMATIC FEEDlNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR-3| 1913.

A Patented Sept. 26,1916.

3 SH EETSSHEET 2.

Inventor,

flttorrae 3.131,

.I. E. HENES.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, 1913.

Patented Sept. 26,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3 itness e15: W m

'rn snares JOHN E. EENES, 0F MENOMINEE, IVIICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 3, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN E. Hnnns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Menominee, in the county of Menomineeand State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof. I

This invention relates to automatic feed ing apparatus for automatically delivering packages or receptacles from a supply to some receiving member or apparatus.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part hereof, a bottle feeding apparatus is shown for. supplying or feeding bottles to a well-known form of automatic bottle filling machine.

I Referring to the drawings, on which the same reference characters are used to designate the same elements wherever they may appear in each of the several views, Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus, parts he ing broken away; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the.apparatus,parts being broken away; and Fig; 3 is an elevation on the line a-a on Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, parts being shown in section.

'R eferring specifically to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates the rotatable ringof a well-known type of bottle filling machine which is rotated in practice by suitable mechanism (not shown) and carries the bottle supports 2 which are in the nature of small. platforms provided with upstanding guards 3 behind bottles which may be thereon. (Seven bottles, only, are indicated by dotted lines on Fig. 2 of the drawings and they. are designated by the reference numerals 4., 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, respectively, for convenience in describing the operation of the apparatus.

The apparatus generically consists of a conveyer for the bottles n1ove ;without moving the tain conditions, a tu receiving the bottles placing them on the and mechanism for a suitable speed.

The, reference numeral 11 designates a tablesupported by an upright 12 upon a bracket '13. The table is provided with fixed guides 14 and 15 and with movable guides and which may bottles under corrntable mechanism. for from the conveyor and bottle filling machine driving the conveyer at Wm Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Sept. 2 s,, 1916. Serial No. 758,557.

16 and 17 which may be held in adjusted positions by thumb-screws 1 8 and 19. The movable guides 16 and 17 are intended to be adjusted for different sized bottles'and are intended to guide the empty bottles'centrally upon the conveyer chains 20, 21 and 22 The fixed guidesl l and 15 are intended to prevent the bottles being pushed out of line and oif the chains sidewise. One end ofthe table 11 is en'- larged in the form of a circular disk and the fixed guide 14 extends the circumference of this disk. A turntable, or more accurately speaking, a turnstile mechanism A is rotatably mounted by pivot or pin 23 concentrically with the disk part of table 11, This turnstile mechanism A comprises the pillar 24 with the flange 25 slightly elevated above the table to clear the throw-out spring table by bolt 27. flange 25 and on these studs are pivoted arms 29 which are yieldingly movable against the 30 in one direction about tension of springs studs 28 but which are normally held by composed of the three arounda part of said springs 30 aga'inst stops 31 projecting upwardly from flange 25,, whereby the arms 29 can be utilized to'drivc and rotate the turnstile mechanism. A to remove the bottles from the disk part of the. table 11 onto the bottle supports 2. and its disk part are set to lie in the same horizontal plane as the bottle supports 2 when said bottle supportslfare in their.

lowermost positions, and a part'of the disk of the table iscut away in a curve'of'circular form at to conform to the path of movement of the bottle supports 2 'so'that the bottle supports canmove close to the' table in a manner which will-be readily un derstood from the drawings. Each arm'29 is preferably formed with a front Wall 33 to" contact with bottles and push them around the disk part of table 11 onto the bottle supports 2, a guard flange 3i and flanges 35 and 36. A extends practically to t 1e the disk part of the table 11 p 1 that arms 29 project over bottle supports 2 and theguards 3 on, the

The topof the table 11 loo strengthening Flan e 25 of turnstile, curve'v'vlieref";

is out awaylso";

bottle supports ,2 i

can contact with arn1s-29to rotate the turnstile A. The guard flanges 34 are cutaway so as to clear the guards 3 on the bottle supports 2, a shoulder 37 be engaged by a guard 3 to drive or rotate the turnstile.

however, being left to The chains composing. the conveyer are maintained in a horizontal plane by the table 11 and to provide for the even transfer of the bottles from the conveyor onto the disk part of the table the chains are let into grooves 38, 39 and 40 in the top of the table so that the tops of the.chains project only slightly above the table; The chains are stretched by sprocket wheels 11 and 42 and are driven from shaft 423 by sprocket wheels 44, 45,- 46 and a7 by sprocket chains 48 and 49 or equivalent driving mechanism. The shaft 48 may be driven in any suitable or preferred manner but in the construction illustrated it is intended to be driven from a rotatable part of the bottle filling, machine (not shown). This driving mechanism does not require to be timed to the rotation of the bottle filling machine because the conveyor chains 2O, 21? and 22 can move whether the bottles supported thereon move therewith or not. A cap 50 of approximately the diameter of flange 25 may be secured to the turnstile A for the sake of appearances and this cap will also serve as a protector to prevent broken glass, etc.

from falling onto flange 25.

The fixed guides 14 and 15 are spaced apart far enough to receive the largest bottles to be handled by the apparatus and the space between flange 25 of the turnstile A and the extension of the fixed guide 14 which extends around the edge of part of the disk part of the table llis also wide enough to receive the largest bottles to be handled by the-apparatus. When smaller bottles are i to be handled a proper sized filling piece 51 can be slipped between the fixed guide 14 and turnstile A to keep the bottles in proper v engagement with arms 29, and clips 52 and 53 may be provided to hold the filling piece in place. A bail 54 may be provided to guard against bottles tipping over as they are moved outwardly onto bottle supports 2.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The bottle filling machine being in operation, the bottle supports 2 successively pass the tufnstile A and the upstanding guards 3 on the bottle supports 2 successively engage with the shoulders 37 on the arms 29 thereby rotating the turnstile A and moving bottles around with it on the disk I part of table 11 until each bottle is removed from table 11 onto a bottle support 2. The throw-out spring 26 extends oyer the path ofcmovement of the bottle supports 2 to insure the complete placing of the bottles upon the bottle supports and this spring yields inwardly when contacted by the guards 3. The conveyor consisting of the chains 20, 21 and 22 is in motion tending to move bottles thereon toward the turnstile A. The bottles may be placed upon the conveyer by hand or fed thereto by any suitable delivery mechanism. The guard flanges 34 on the arms 29 are in function filling pieces to partly close the spaces between the arms 29 so that only a single bottle can be pushed into the space between any two arms. The chains 20, 21 and 22 will run or slide under bottles thereon if the row of bottles is kept from moving by the foremost bottle being stopped by flange 25 or a guard flange 34 of the turnstilc A. The speed of move ment of the conveyor chains 20. 21 and 22 is really immaterial provided they move fast enough to move a bottle into the space between two arms 29 while that space is at arms 29 to yield if by chance a bottle too large to pass between flange 25 and filling piece 51. (or fixed guide 14-, in case no filling piece 18 being used) is .ied to the apparatus or if a broken bottle or other thing should tend to Wedge in the apparatus.

that is claimed is:

1. In turnstile mechanism for automatic feeding apparatus. the combination with a fixed table of a flange reyolubly mounted thereon above the same. arms pivoted to the flange and extending radially therefrom be yond its edge and over the table, and yieldable means for holding the arms in their radial positions unless they are opposed by an abnormal. resistance.

2. in turnstile mechanism for automaticfeeding apparatus, the combination with a fixed table of a flange revolubly mounted thereon above the same and provided with studs and stops, arms pivotally mounted upon. the studs, and springs for normally JOHN E. HENES.

Witnesses:

OEHMAR H. Henna; R. F. CANsoN. 

